An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has summoned the chief executives of all Nigerian insurance companies over an alleged breach of the National Housing Fund (NHF), which requires all companies to invest a portion of their funds in the housing development sector.
Committee chairman Dachung Bagos (PDP, Plateau), who announced the call during its session in Abuja on Tuesday, said companies are in arrears to the tune of 267 billion naira.
Bagos said that most of the insurance companies in Nigeria have not complied with the provisions of the law.
Section 5(2) of the NHF states that each insurance company must invest a minimum of 20 percent of its non-life funds and 40 percent of its life funds in real estate development, but 50 percent percent of the fund must be invested in the NHF through the Federal Mortgage Bank at an interest rate not higher than four percent.
“Each registered insurance company shall invest a minimum of 20 percent of its non-life funds and 40 percent of its life funds in the development of real property, of which not less than 50 percent shall be paid to the Fund at through the Federal Mortgage Bank. of Nigeria (in this Act referred to as “the bank”) at an interest rate not exceeding 4 per cent,” the Act says.
Bagos said lawmakers have the record of all remittances to the NHF, adding that companies failed to send a total of 267 billion naira.
“In 2019 alone, 54 insurance companies have failed to remit 267 billion naira. They need to tell us where the money is. This figure does not include 2020 to 2023. We have the law but we are not working with the law, instead we complain daily,” he said.
The legislator ordered the secretary of the commission to write letters to all insurance companies, setting a date to appear.
He said chief executives must explain the reasons why they have not been investing in the NHF as required by law.
In his contribution, Timilehin Adelegbe (APC, Ondo) said that the committee should publish the names of the chief executives in the newspaper if they do not appear before it.
“For any outstanding funds not remitted, the CEOs must be held accountable and if they don’t at the next hearing, we will publish their names,” he said.
Another committee member, Kama Nkemkanma, said: “We are talking here about billions of dollars not remitted; I want us to be more serious.”
Nkemkanma urged CEOs to come forward themselves rather than send their subordinates, saying it was necessary to get to the bottom of the matter.
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